KhorasForum

Assuming that Khoras is a globe, and there are no other large continents that aren't mentioned, it would seem that if one were to start in the Shard Wasteland and continue north, up over the north pole, the first thing you'd run into on the southward journey would be the Shidar Wasteland.

Is that right?

Yes, that's correct. Khoras is a globe. I'm not sure of the exact angle as I haven't mapped out Khoras as a true 3D globe yet, but generally speaking, if you start at the Shard Wastelands and go generally north you'll end up over at the Shidaran Peninsula and the wasteland. Of course, there's a sea between the two. Also, many hundreds of miles of desolate arctic tundra. So, it wouldn't be an easy journey, but it would be possible.

Some other things to consider - when I ran the Jaidor Talisman campaign, I wanted to make absolutely sure that the players followed the route I wanted them to take. I wanted them to have a very long journey beginning from Rukemia, then sailing across the sea towards Aggradar, then a LONG journey across all of Aggradar before they finally reached their final destination of Shidar. I wanted them to have a long wonderful journey full of adventures and side trips and see every nation and city that we could possibly squeeze in.

Now, my players are just like any other players - smart as hell and determined to take the shortest route to their goal, despite the fact that they might circumnavigate all the carefully prepared encounters the game master has devised. The players did talk about heading WEST instead of east to get there. They also considered sailing around Aggradar to get to Shidar rather than walking overland.

I came up with a few ideas to guide them along the route I wanted...

1. The world is FLAT. Or at least, that's what many cultures and peoples believe. Ask any common peasant or sailor, and they will insist the world is flat. Only the most learned scholars know otherwise and even some of them might reject the idea of a round world due to religious belief. The point is, many sailors are afraid to sail into unchartered seas out of fear.

2. Monsters - The Mad Seas which are the waters around the peninsula of Shidar, are full of nasty beasts that love to attack ships. This is true for the waters west and north of the Shidaran peninsula. Less so for the waters to the east. These are very nasty sea monsters. Partly this is evolution run rampant due to magical tampering. But these beasts are also extremely aggressive, also due to magical tampering. So, any ship trying to sail to the peninsula will be attacked when they get in sight of it. This was mainly to deter them from trying to sail across the Mad Seas.

3. Within the context of the Jaidor Talisman campaign, the players are given an ancient map which has a specific route marked on it. I, as game master, dropped subtle hints here and there that it would be a wise decision to follow the route as closely as possible. Varying from the route might cause them to miss something important. This actually turned out to be a very good argument. If the players sailed around the continent, they might get to Shidar, but find that they have missed several important things they needed to pick up along the way. And, as a matter of fact, it's true. If players sail AROUND Aggradar and go straight to Shidar, they will die as soon as they walk into the peninsula. Mainly because the environment is completely lethal if you haven't taken very specific precautions. Or they would be forced to backtrack and head into Aggradar to go get what they missed. And the players are to learn about those necessary precautions on the journey through the lands of Aggradar. It's a nice Catch-22. The slow route is actually faster. The fast route only kills you.

So, in summary, yes, sometimes heading over the north pole or some other route is faster. It's true. But if you want the players to take a longer, and more adventurous route, there are ways of channeling them where you want them to go turning their fears and their goals against them.

And everyone on the forum here probably already knows how I feel about the teleport spell...